Liz has the video of a new TV spot from Bruno's Senate Republican Campaign Committee that started running last weekend in Nassau County. The ad, titled "Unspeakable", is targeted against freshman state Senator Craig Johnson an uses a cardboard cutout of Johnson as a foil for some really lame and utterly baseless jabs. Take a look:
As Liz notes, the ad accuses Johnson of voting for huge cuts to health care funding. Of course, this was a one house BS bill that was introduced solely to put Senate Dems on the record so that they could, ya know, make BS TV spots. Also, the ad bashes Johnson for supporting "a plan to give away $66 million dollars of state aid for Long Island schools". Of course, Johnson's district received $25 million bucks in state aid for education, more than any other district on Long Island. There's even a "question", thoroughly unsourced, about his supposed support for a plan to "raise the property taxes for hundreds of thousands of Long Islanders. For the life of me, I have no idea what this bit is about. Apparenty, I'm not the only one. Liz quotes Johnson as saying, "I have no idea what they're talking about."
Of course, none of the "questions" in the ad can be answered because they are addressed to that cardboard cutout. It reminded me of this high point in Republican accountability.
You remember Maureen O'Connell, don't you? She's the Nassau County Clerk who ran unsuccessfully for State Senate earlier this year and ultimately lost to Craig Johnson. That race was terribly expensive. About $5 million bucks was spent and it was spent in a month. Back in January, her County Clerk campaign fund had $46 bucks in it. Today? $319,708.
Where did all that cash come from? Well, it came from her Senate campaign fund. What's even better is that after she lost that special election, there was a flood of money into that fund. Nice work if you can get it.
Nassau County Clerk Maureen O’Connell saw her war chest jump to $319,708 last month, according to state Board of Elections filings. O’Connell, if you recall, ran a tight, but ultimately losing race to Democrat Craig Johnson in Long Island’s 7th District last winter, after Michael Balboni, the former, Republican Senator there, was hired by Gov Eliot Spitzer as homeland security czar.
Back in January, the clerk’s fund had $46.
The jump came thanks to a transfer from her Senate fund which has been zeroed out. Right after her Senate loss in February she reported an influx of money into the Senate fund, and those dollars have since gone to the clerk fund.
(Ladies and Gentlemen, let the dirty tricks begin. - promoted by lipris)
This just in from Nassau Voter Protection; the above flyer (click to enlarge), clearly pretending to be an official statement from the U.S. Attorney's office, is currently being districbuted in the Seventh District.
Polls are now open in the 7th State Senate District. There is so much on the line today, for the 7th, for New York and even for the country. Don't believe me? Look at the pros. This race is now the most expensive state Senate race in the history of New York. The campaigns have now spent in excess of $5 million bucks and they've broken the old record in 30 days. When was the last time that a state Senate race drew two top tier presidential candidates in the same day? Talk about bringing out the big guns...
This one is going to come down to turnout and, let's face it, it's freaking cold. I'll be out in the district all day today with NYBri. Brian will be out knocking on doors and dragging folks to the polls and I'm going to be bringing you as much info from the ground as possible including any reports of voter intimidation and even election results tonight. Also, don't forget the Nassau Voter Protection site.
For those in the district, VOTE. For those who have friends or family in the district, call them and remind them to vote. For everyone else, drop by here for all the latest from the scene all day long.
OK, I've been trying to make heads or tails of this all day. As you may know, Maureen O'Connell claimed this morning that some voters in the 7th district received multiple misleading "robo calls" during last night's Super Bowl broadcast, a practice eerily similar to the multiple misleading robo calls placed by the NRCC and it's affiliates on behalf of dozens of Republican Congressional candidates last November.
On the one hand, her claim seems to be yet another tired Rovian ploy, much like her god-awful Bin Laden direct mail piece which was denounced today by the NJDC as "desperate and shameful" and on the other hand it seemed to be another roll of the dice by a struggling campaign to manipulate the media space the day before the election, much like Joe Lieberman's "bloggers broke my website" ploy from last August.
On the third hand, Maureen's website has posted what it purports to be a recording of the actual call. You can listen here.
A recent Craig Johnson campaign piece quoted you as saying that you need Craig to help bring real reform to Albany. Having looked over your reform agenda, I found that I can easily support it. In fact, as a member of the Assembly, I sponsored or voted in favor of similar reforms.
O'Connell, speaking before a crowd of several hundred cheering supporters at the American Legion hall in Williston Park, called Johnson "a sidekick" to Spitzer and criticized his support for the governor's property tax reduction plan, which she said actually would raise homeowners' taxes.
Now even Michael Balboni, the same Michael Balboni pictured in Maureen O'Connell's totally nutty Osama Bin Laden flyer, doesn't want anything to with it. In fact, he "was not aware" of the mailing he says. Newsday has more.
A new campaign flier that pairs O'Connell with Balboni, the district's former Republican senator who resigned to become the state's homeland security chief, hit mailboxes Friday.
It features a photo of bin Laden and states, "As long as New York and Tel Aviv are targets for terrorists, we need Maureen O'Connell protecting us in the Senate." Inside, there is a photo of O'Connell next to Balboni in front of a mock-up of the state Homeland Security seal.
Balboni said he has not endorsed any candidate and was not aware of the mailing. "To the extent that it implies that there is a governmental agency supporting the candidacy of anybody, that is incorrect and inappropriate," he said.
State homeland security office spokesman Dennis Michalski added in a statement, "It is completely inappropriate for a political candidate to use a falsified state seal in the context of a political campaign."
National Jewish Democratic Council also blasted the mailing. "This is a desperate and shameful attempt to try to use Israel as a wedge issue," said deputy executive director David Goldenberg.
Whoa! Somebody is looking awfully desperate here and her name is Maureen. This is the mailer that her campaign is sending out, perhaps targeting Jewish households. Osama Bin Laden? The president of Iran? In a state Senate race? Are you effin' kidding me? Capitol Confidential has more.
Here's Republican 7th SD candidate Maureen O'Connell's latest campaign mailer, which seeks not only to scare voters into supporting her, but also to link her with the man who held the seat she's seeking: Michael Balboni, former chair of the Senate's homeland security committee and now Gov. Eliot Spitzer's deputy secretary for public safety.
The piece even includes a photo of O'Connell and Balboni together.
I'm not sure what "security expertise" they're talking about here. Last I checked, O'Connell was a registered nurse - a fact about which SEIU/1199, her biggest union backer, has been making much in the mailers and radio/TV ads it has produced on O'Connell's behalf.
The way this is written, with an emphasis on Israel and O'Connell's support of the Jewish community it seems likely it was sent to Jewish households.
If that's the case, however, it must have been sent out before her endorsement earlier this week by The Jewish Press, since that's not mentioned here.
This is the second time in less than a year that Osama bin Laden has played a role in a New York political campaign.
Last summer, former Yonkers Mayor John Spencer tried to paint his opponent, U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY, as weak on terror with an ad that juxtaposed an image of her with a photo of bin Laden.
They are scared. This just reeks of desperation.
Much more absolute freaking nuttiness on the flip...
It's time to ask Maureen O'Connell to come clean and release the audit of her office that was delivered to her ON JANUARY 12th. We aren't the only ones asking either. The Working Families Party is asking as well:
The Working Families Party calls on Maureen O'Connell to release an audit of her performance as Nassau County Clerk. With O'Connell's record as Nassau County Clerk a major part of her campaign for State Senate, it is essential that voters are in possession of all the facts when they choose a new State Senator.
O'Connell has been in possession of the audit of her performance in office since January 12th. Instead of releasing the audit to the public, O'Connell has broken with protocol and refused to comment on the audit until after the election. Voters in the Seventh Senate District deserve to know all the facts when they vote in the February 6 special election.
Maureen O'Connell should put to rest questions about her actions as Nassau County Clerk by releasing the management audit.
Please join us in asking Maureen O'Connell to put all speculation to rest by releasing this document which should have been in the public realm weeks ago. Give her a call:
Maureen O'Connell For State Senate
499 Jericho Turnpike
Suite 100
Mineola, NY 11501
516-741-7300
maureen@maureenoconnell.com
It looks like Maureen O'Connell, the Republican candidate for state Senate in the 7th District special election would be a perfect fit for Joe Bruno's caucus. She's already proven adept at at avoiding the public's scrutiny and now she can add suppression of less than favorable evaluations of her performance to her sad resume'. She can even do so whilst accusing others of "partisanship". No wonder Bruno wants her so bad. They are birds of a feather.
Maureen O'Connell, the Nassau County Clerk, recently received an audit courtesy of Howard Weitzman, the Nassau County Comptroller and current New York Comptroller hopeful. She received this audit, which was many months in the making on January 12th. Her office has yet to respond because the staffer who apparently would do so is conveniently on leave until, ya know, after the election. For more, let's go to Newsday
With a week left before the special election in the 7th State Senate District, candidate Maureen O'Connell is feuding with Nassau Comptroller Howard Weitzman over the possible release of an audit that is said to shine a negative light on O'Connell's leadership in the county clerk's office.
After many stops and starts over the past year, Weitzman, a Democrat who is vying to become the state comptroller, completed the audit on Jan. 12. Following protocol, Weitzman said he went to O'Connell, a Republican, for a response. He said that she replied that her office would be unable to comment because an employee who is needed to address questions is on family leave through next month.
O'Connell, who is running against Nassau Legis. Craig Johnson (D-Port Washington), said Weitzman is motivated by partisanship and noted that he was lobbying state lawmakers to back his bid for state comptroller. Weitzman has remained neutral in the Senate race.
"He'll say and do anything to advance his career," O'Connell said on Friday. "The release of ... any comment from Howard is extremely political."
Wow. Mayor Bloomberg really must want to protect state Senate Majority Leader and noted liar Joe Bruno. The Mayor is making his presence felt in a MAJOR way in the SSD-07 special election by dropping a $250,000 "bomb" on Maureen O'Connell's struggling campaign. The New York Post has the "exclusive".
MAYOR Bloomberg is about to drop a $250,000 bomb on a fiercely contested special election on Long Island that could shape the power structure of the state Senate.
...
Bloomberg "has committed to giving that amount [$250,000]," said one source. "Some of it he's given, some of it he'll be giving through multiple accounts."
The mayor's eye-popping contribution is certain to cheer up Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno.
But it could also infuriate Gov. Spitzer. The governor inserted himself into the hot race by campaigning for the Democratic candidate, Johnson, despite a demand by Bruno that he butt out.
New state GOP chief Joe Mondello finds himself in quite pickle in the special election for the 7th District seat in Nassau County. It seems that there is one county wide elected Republican in the county, one Maureen O'Connell. If she wins, County Exec Tom Suozzi will fill the county clerk's seat with a Democrat, eliminating the last GOP office holder in the county. If, as I think is more likely, O'Connell loses, he will have proven that he can't even deliver in his own back yard. (He's also the chair of the GOP county committee in Nassau.) He will have also presided over bringing the state GOP one seat closer pretty much complete irrelevance in New York, a state that could last for generations. Either way, he loses. Nassau GOP Watch has more:
Mondello the Nassau GOP chairman and now NYS GOP chairman too, find himself on a tough place with the special election for the state senate. Critics of the choice of Mondello for state chairman didn't want a chairman who also was in charge of a county committee. They felt that the dual role would be problems. Mondello had to prove himself.
The state senate race is an election Mondello has to win. He needs to retain the seat for the republicans and prove he can win races in his own county. The problem Mondello has is that by choosing vote-getter Maureen O'Connell he is putting the only republican held county-wide seat into democratic hands if she wins.
If O'Connell wins, Mondello can claim a victory as state chairman and Nassau boss but will lose the County Clerks office. County Clerk might not seem such a big deal but the position does provide a certain amount of patronage and as I said, it's the last county-wide elected position the republicans have in Nassau. O'Connell wins, CE Souzzi picks a Clerk. And it's not going to be a republican.
If (and when in my opinion) O'Connell loses, Mondello gets to keep the clerks job in republican hands but loses a seat in the senate to the democrats.
In any scenario, Mondello stands to lose something.
The Politicker is reporting that Maureen O'Connell, the Republican candidate for state Senate in District 7, might be ducking an appearance at a League of Women Voters candidate forum with Democratic candidate Craig Johnson tonight out in Nassau County.
It's still unclear whether Republican Maureen O'Connell will participate in scheduled candidate forum tonight along with Democrat Craig Johnson.
The event is supposed to start at 7 p.m. in Manhasset, hosted by the League of Women Voters. The organization's Nassau office of said that both candidates were invited and as of this morning, only Johnson has confirmed. I called O'Connell's campaign and asked if they'll be there. I'm still waiting for the answer.
Senator Liz Kreuger has just released a statement questioning the sincerity of state Senate candidate Maureen O'Connell's evolving stance on stem cell research. It's definitely worth a read.
STATEMENT BY STATE SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER ON REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE MAUREEN O'CONNELL'S SHIFTING STEM CELL RESEARCH STANCE
It was reported today that Maureen O'Connell, Republican Leader Joe Bruno's candidate to fill the Senate vacancy left by former Senator Michael Balboni, said efforts to fund a $1 billion stem-cell research plan do not "go far enough." Her statement implies that she fully supports the medical promise of stem-cell research.
Maureen O'Connell speaks a good game come campaign time, but she does not have the record to back up her rhetoric.
In 2004, then-Assemblywoman O'Connell sponsored legislation (A10256) that would have banned medical procedures necessary to conduct stem-cell research. In 2003 and again in 2004, she voted against the "Reproductive Cloning Prohibition and Research Protection Act." While serving on the Assembly Health Committee, O'Connell voted against A6300, which would have established a state-funded institute for stem cell research in New York State.
As the lead sponsor of legislation that would advance stem-cell research in our State (S433B), I find it disheartening that Maureen O'Connell is actively misleading the voters of the 7th Senate District. Despite being a registered nurse, O'Connell voted against legislation that is medically accurate, ethically sound, and economically wise.
Here's Maureen O'Connell's new ad, "The High Tax Express".
Personally, I think it's a pretty awful and thoroughly misleading spot. That said, it may be just awful enough to appeal to those willing to vote in a special election in the dead of winter. Even though I have made campaign ads myself, I'm often not the best judge of them, especially those of the cartoonish variety. I think this ad certainly qualifies in that category.
The Working Families Party today endorsed Nassau County Legislator Craig Johnson (D-Port Washington) in the race to replace outgoing state Senator and new state Homeland Security chief Michael Balboni.
The Working Families Party is proud to endorse Nassau County Legislator Craig Johnson for State Senate in the 7th Senate District special election on February 6th.
After interviewing both Craig Johnson and Maureen O'Connell, Nassau WFP Chapter members voted overwhelmingly to endorse Craig Johnson. Larry DeAngelis, co-chair of the Working Families Nassau Chapter, had this to say:
"Working families in Nassau County need Craig Johnson in the State Senate to reform Albany, reduce property taxes for working and middle-class families and address pressing needs like better schools and affordable housing. In every election, we interview the candidates and evaluate their positions on the issues that matter most to working families. In this race, we're convinced that Craig Johnson is the best candidate for working families on Long Island."
It's official. As expected, Nassau county dems nominated County Legislator Craig Johnson to run against County Clerk, Maureen O'Connell in the Feb 6th special election to replace new state Homeland Security chief Michael Balboni.
Craig Johnson, a popular county legislator, was nominated Monday to run for a key state Senate seat being left vacant by Michael Balboni's departure to Democratic Gov. Eliot Spitzer's administration as chief of homeland security.
...
Jay Jacobs, chairman of the Nassau County Democrats, said Johnson comes to the table with a solid record and base of supporters.
"He knows how to campaign, voters are used to voting for him and he has an excellent record in the Legislature," Jacobs said.
Johnson was elected to the 11th Legislative District in a special election in 2000 after the death of the former legislator, Barbara Johnson, his mother.
He was re-elected to the post in 2001 and 2003. In 2005, he received 73 percent of the votes, Jacobs said.
This one is gonna be a dogfight and there's less than month for these campaigns and the parties to make their case. The stakes are HUGE, especially for the GOP, and their new party chair who has deep roots in the district and will likely pull out all the stops to not only protect the seat, but his own home turf.
Whoa! Somebody is looking awfully desperate here and her name is Maureen. This is the mailer that her campaign is sending out, perhaps targeting Jewish households. Osama Bin Laden? The president of Iran? In a state Senate race? Are you effin' kidding me? Capitol Confidential has more.
